I have not done an exhaustive study on the subject, but it seems to be human nature to simply dismiss people that are not like us. The first lesson in my [almost] adult life was when I was working a summer job between my freshman and sophomore years in college. Looking back, I can see the wisdom in my father’s push to get me a job in a factory environment as a place to learn… Read More »Defense Against Dismissivism
It is appropriate after a week of talking about people watching that we look at how our culture makes up meaningless rules that we may choose to obey or ignore. It is not the nature of the rules that is fascinating as much as it is the behavior of people who make and follow them. People who are in a position of authority can sweep out the old rules in favor of their own personal… Read More »From the Archives of Make HR Happen – Those Times We Talked About Made-up Rules
If there is a line between stalking and people watching, I probably test those boundaries from time to time. There is a library of characters in my brain, probably for that unwritten great American novel, that grows with every day. This week began with observing how people see different generations. If ageism is alive and well it is probably partially due to how people are perceived by another age group. Next we transitioned into a… Read More »Reviewing This Week on Make HR Happen – Watching People Everywhere
People watching is like bird watching and can prove to be a contagious sport. My wife and I often take walks through Tarrywile Park in Danbury, a 722 acre municipal park that is absolutely a treasure trove of birds. She is an avid bird watcher and I have learned so much from her… after convincing my always complaining knees that this is a healthy activity for them. I have an app on my phone that… Read More »Do-It-Yourself People Watching Guide
All of us are people-watchers at one time or another. We can find amusement in watching people perform in their own one-act unrehearsed and unplanned play as they stumble through life unaware that anyone is watching. When it becomes necessary, we consciously, or maybe unconsciously, focus our observation on others in order to learn acceptable behaviors and successful patterns of actions. For a job seeker, there are many lessons to be learned about changing the… Read More »A Job Search Requires More Than One Lens